Touch-sensitive displays (also known as “touch screens”) are well known in the art. Touch screens are used in many electronic devices to display control buttons, graphics, text, and to provide a user interface through which a user may interact with the device. A touch screen detects and responds to one or more contacts on its surface. A device may display one or more control buttons, soft keys, menus, and other user-interface elements on the touch screen. A user may interact with the device by contacting the touch screen at locations corresponding to the user-interface (UI) elements with which they wish to interact.
One problem associated with using touch screens on portable devices is quickly and easily finding a desired user-interface element to launch the desired functionality. Considering the rich functionalities the application can provide, there may be lots of UI elements (e.g. buttons, knobs, controls, and the like) on a display. A major problem is that it may be troublesome for user to find the right UI element in a timely manner, especially in a mission critical situation. For example, a user may be required to make a selection from a large number of items that cannot be displayed as a complete list on the display, due to size or other constraints. This requires the user to scroll through the list in order to make the selection. The scrolling itself consists of several repeated dragging, sliding, and flicking gestures, which makes the whole process of selection time consuming, frustrating, and unpleasant. This is particularly troublesome in cases of public safety or other emergency where time is of essence.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus for controlling a touch-screen device that makes controlling the device easier and more time-efficient.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.